“I heard she had some emotional disturbances,” Mattheus interrupted. “No one said she was insane.”
“But she is insane,” Tad interrupted, “and overly attached to Tiffany.” Little beads of sweat burst out on his forehead. “In fact, her mother kept grabbing onto Tiffany and pulling her into her crazy world. If Tiffany didn’t do exactly as her mother demanded, the guilt was terrific, and the manipulations. Tiffany couldn’t stand up to that woman, she needed me to break away. All Tiffany’s laughing and running around with friends was an elaborate cover. She was hurting inside.”
Cindy wondered if Tad was throwing suspicion on the mother? It was surprising. She’d heard Tad and Tiffany’s mother had been particularly close.
“I heard you and Tiffany’s mother had a good relationship,” Cindy interjected.
“Her mother decided I was good for Tiffany, that I would keep her close to home. She expected to maneuver me, too. Of course her mother had no idea I was going to help Tiffany leave her behind.” He smiled oddly. “I had to help her break away.
“No one has mentioned anything like this,” Mattheus said intensely.
“Why would they?” Tad flared up. “They probably didn’t even realize what was going on. Her father is obsessed with his public image, Rori is obsessed with rebelling and the older sister, Wynn, only wants to keep peace. But I immediately knew what Tiffany was up against. I had a taste of the same thing with my mother myself, years ago.” He breathed deeply. “Fortunately, I learned how to handle it.”
“Fortunately,” said Mattheus.
“How did you handle it?” asked Cindy.
Tad smiled. He suddenly seemed tired. “That’s a long story,” he said wanly, “and I’m not sure it has anything to do with what we’re up against now. Some of us grow up quickly, though. When we do, we can spot others who need us.”
“Spot it a mile away,” Mattheus agreed.
Tad nodded. “I was forced to grow up. And I did. I was helping Tiffany grow up, too.”
“Then someone came and killed her,” Mattheus rumbled.
Tad swallowed heavily.
“Could it really have been Frances?” Mattheus shot the question at him again.
“I’ve thought about it over and over,” Tad rumbled back. “He could have done it in a drug stupor.”
“But why would he want to?” asked Cindy.
“If the sicko’d been having fantasies about sleeping with my fiancée, then maybe his jealousy drove him over the edge? Especially after she got engaged to me. The murder happened right after our party. Tiffany insisted upon inviting him to it - said he was an old friend.”
“Did you believe her?” Mattheus asked.
“Of course I believed her,” said Tad. “There was no reason for her to lie, not about anything. What would she get out of it?”
Cindy breathed deeply, so did Mattheus. What good would all these stories do? Basically, there was no DNA evidence to prove anything. The only physical evidence they had that tied anyone to the crime was the necklace Tiffany had worn around her neck that was ripped from her. The police had made flyers of it and passed it around, an amethyst necklace with a design engraved in rubies in the center. Beyond that, the medical examiner had been examining the contents of the body for a long time. Obviously, he was concocting the story of the pregnancy now just to put the case to rest.
“Without firm evidence of a pregnancy, so far the police have nothing,” Mattheus said.
Tad nodded.
“What will you do if they find she was pregnant?” Mattheus asked.
“I’ll never believe it,” Tad said. “They’ll have to show me the slides.”
“And if they do?”
“I still won’t believe them. The cops down here are crooked as hell.”
“They can’t make up DNA. If it says Frances is he father, then he is.”
Tad’s face got beet red. “They haven’t produced it yet! They never will! I don’t believe it! No one has any idea who killed her. No one is close.”
“I’m the only one who’s close to finding the killer,” Cindy suddenly announced.
At that both Tad and Mattheus stopped cold and stared at her.
“Who? “asked Tad interested.
“It’s too soon to say,” said Cindy. “But I’m warm on his trail.”
Cindy didn’t know what she was referring to, but it felt good to put it out there. She wanted Tad to feel that all wasn’t lost. And she wanted to make a declaration to the universe that the truth would not go undiscovered. She intended to uncover it, if it was the last thing she did.
“That’s impressive,” said Tad. “Let me know when you find him. You relieve my mind by just saying so.”
*
After Tad left Cindy went back up to her room, agitated. Mattheus followed her back up. The interview had gone smoothly, but the news that the medical examiner and police might be creating false evidence was something wouldn’t let her rest. She felt more urgency than ever to find a real lead.